Portable device and apparatus for wirelessly charging the portable device from energy transmitted by a transmitter

ABSTRACT

A portable device is provided. The portable device includes a power receiving unit configured to receive a first energy or a second energy from a wireless power transmitter, the first energy being used to perform a communication function and a control function, the second energy being used to charge a battery, and the wireless power transmitter being configured to wirelessly transmit a power, a voltage generator configured to generate a wake-up voltage from the first energy, or to generate a voltage for charging the battery from the second energy, a controller configured to perform the communication function and the control function, the controller being activated by the wake-up voltage, and a communication unit configured to perform a communication with the wireless power transmitter based on a control of the controller.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/915,598, filed on Mar. 8, 2018, which is a ContinuationApplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/584,297, filed on May 2,2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,935,489), which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/847,233, filed on Sep. 8, 2015 (now U.S. Pat.No. 9,647,485), which is a Continuation Application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 13/419,259, filed on Mar. 13, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No.9,142,996), which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2011-0027043, filed on Mar. 25, 2011, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The following description relates to a portable device, and a wirelesspower charging system of the portable device.

2. Description of Related Art

Wireless power refers to energy that is transferred from a wirelesspower transmitter to a wireless power receiver via magnetic coupling.Accordingly, a wireless power charging system includes a source deviceand a portable device. The source device may wirelessly transmit power,and the portable device may wirelessly receive power. Here, the sourcedevice may be referred to as a wireless power transmitter, and theportable device may be referred to as a target device or a wirelesspower receiver.

The source device may include a source resonator, and the portabledevice may include a target resonator. Magnetic coupling or resonancecoupling may be formed between the source resonator and the targetresonator. Due to characteristics of a wireless environment, a distancebetween a source resonator and a target resonator may likely vary overtime, and matching requirements matching the source resonator and thetarget resonator may be changed.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, a portable device is provided. The portabledevice includes a power receiving unit configured to receive a firstenergy or a second energy from a wireless power transmitter, the firstenergy being used to perform a communication function and a controlfunction, the second energy being used to charge a battery, and thewireless power transmitter being configured to wirelessly transmit apower, a voltage generator configured to generate a wake-up voltage fromthe first energy, or to generate a voltage for charging the battery fromthe second energy, a controller configured to perform the communicationfunction and the control function, the controller being activated by thewake-up voltage, and a communication unit configured to perform acommunication with the wireless power transmitter based on a control ofthe controller.

The power receiving unit may include a target resonator configured toform a magnetic coupling with a source resonator of the wireless powertransmitter, and to receive the first energy or the second energy basedon the magnetic coupling and a matching controller configured to adjusta resonance frequency or an impedance of the target resonator based onthe control of the controller.

The voltage generator may include an alternating current (AC)-to-directcurrent (DC) (AC/DC) inverter configured to generate the wake-up voltageby rectifying the first energy, and to generate the voltage for chargingthe battery by rectifying the second energy, and a path determining unitconfigured to determine a power supply path, so that the wake-up voltageis supplied to the controller and that the voltage for charging thebattery is supplied to the battery.

In response to the controller being activated by the wake-up voltage,the controller may control a switch to begin supplying a voltage fromthe battery to the controller and the communication unit.

The controller may verify an amount of a power remaining in the battery,and in response to the amount being equal to or greater than apredetermined value, may control the switch to begin supplying thevoltage from the battery to the controller and the communication unit.

The portable device may include a charging capacitor configured tocharge the wake-up voltage, and to provide the charged wake-up voltageto the controller and the communication unit.

The communication unit may perform the communication with the wirelesspower transmitter, using a Bluetooth, a wireless local area network(WLAN), or a wireless communication module. The Bluetooth, the WLAN andthe wireless communication module may be included in the portabledevice.

The communication unit may be activated by the wake-up voltage, mayreceive a wake-up request signal from the wireless power transmitter,and may transmit a response signal in response to the wake-up requestsignal to the wireless power transmitter. The response signal mayinclude an identifier (ID) of the portable device.

After transmitting the response signal, the communication unit mayreceive, from the wireless power transmitter, a state informationrequest message comprising information on a resonance frequency, andtransmit state information of the portable device to the wireless powertransmitter. The state information may include information on a currentflowing in a target resonator, information on a voltage of the targetresonator, and information on a charge state of the battery.

The communication unit may perform a “communication for anti-collision”with the wireless power transmitter.

In another aspect, the wireless power charging method may includereceiving a first energy from a wireless power transmitter, the firstenergy being used to perform a communication function and a controlfunction, and the wireless power transmitter being configured towirelessly transmit a power, activating a communication module based onthe first energy, and transmitting a response signal via the activatedcommunication module. The response signal includes an identifier (ID) ofthe portable device.

The wireless power charging method may include performing a“communication for anti-collision” with the wireless power transmitter.

The wireless power charging method may include receiving, from thewireless power transmitter, a state information request messagecomprising information on a resonance frequency, and transmitting stateinformation of the portable device to the wireless power transmitter.The state information includes information on a current flowing in atarget resonator, information on a voltage of the target resonator, andinformation on a charge state of a battery.

The wireless power charging method may include receiving a second energyfrom the wireless power transmitter, the second energy being used tocharge the battery, and generating a voltage for charging the batteryfrom the second energy.

In another aspect, a portable device is provided. The portable deviceincludes a power receiving unit configured to receive a first energy ora second energy from a wireless power transmitter, the first energybeing used to perform a communication function and a control function,the second energy being used to charge a battery, and the wireless powertransmitter being configured to wirelessly transmit a power, a voltagegenerator configured to generate a voltage for charging the battery fromthe second energy, a controller configured to perform the communicationfunction and the control function, the controller being activated by thefirst energy, and a communication unit configured to perform acommunication with the wireless power transmitter based on a control ofthe controller.

The activating of the communication module may use a wake-up voltagebased on the first energy.

The “communication for anti-collision” may be performed in response to aplurality of targets existing.

Other features and aspects may be apparent from the following detaileddescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless power chargingsystem.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of aportable device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless power chargingmethod.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of the wireless powercharging method.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation method of awireless power charging system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of awireless power transmitter.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of asource resonating unit of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8 through 14B are diagrams illustrating examples of resonators.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an equivalent circuit ofa resonator of FIG. 8.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwisedescribed, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood torefer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative sizeand depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity,illustration, and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader ingaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses,and/or systems described herein. Accordingly, various changes,modifications, and equivalents of the systems, apparatuses and/ormethods described herein will be suggested to those of ordinary skill inthe art. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructionsmay be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless power charging system.

Referring to FIG. 1, a source device 110 may include a source unit 111and a source resonator 115. The source unit 111 may receive energy froman external voltage supply to generate a power. The source device 110may further include a matching control 113 to perform resonancefrequency matching, impedance matching, or a combination thereof.

The source unit 111 may include an alternating current (AC)-to-AC(AC/AC) converter, an AC-to-direct current (DC) (AC/DC) converter, and aDC-to-AC (DC/AC) inverter. The AC/AC converter may adjust a signal levelof an AC signal to a desired level based on input from an externaldevice. The AC/DC converter may output a DC voltage at a predeterminedlevel by rectifying an AC signal based on output from the AC/ACconverter. The DC/AC inverter may generate an AC signal in a band basedon quickly switching a DC voltage output from the AC/DC converter. Theband may range from a few megahertz (MHz) to tens of MHz

The matching control 113 may set a resonance bandwidth of the sourceresonator 115, an impedance matching frequency of the source resonator115, or a combination thereof. The matching control 113 may include asource resonance bandwidth setting unit (not shown), a source matchingfrequency setting unit (not shown), or a combination thereof. The sourceresonance bandwidth setting unit may set the resonance bandwidth of thesource resonator 115. The source matching frequency setting unit may setthe impedance matching frequency of the source resonator 115. Forexample, a Q-factor of the source resonator 115 may be determined basedon a setting of the resonance bandwidth of the source resonator 115, asetting of the impedance matching frequency of the source resonator 115,or a combination thereof.

The source resonator 115 may transfer electromagnetic energy to a targetresonator 121. For example, the source resonator 115 may transfer apower to a portable device 120 via magnetic coupling 101. The power maybe received by the portable device 120 via the target resonator 121. Thesource resonator 115 may resonate within the set resonance bandwidth.

In this example, the portable device 120 may include the targetresonator 121, a matching control 123 to perform resonance frequencymatching or impedance matching, and a target unit 125 to transfer thereceived resonance power to a load.

The target resonator 121 may receive the electromagnetic energy from thesource resonator 115, and may resonate within the set resonancebandwidth.

For example, the matching control 123 may set a resonance bandwidth ofthe target resonator 121, an impedance matching frequency of the targetresonator 121, or a combination thereof. The matching control 123 mayinclude a target resonance bandwidth setting unit (not shown), a targetmatching frequency setting unit (not shown), or a combination thereof.The target resonance bandwidth setting unit may set the resonancebandwidth of the target resonator 121. The target matching frequencysetting unit may set the impedance matching frequency of the targetresonator 121. For example, a Q-factor of the target resonator 121 maybe determined based on a setting of the resonance bandwidth of thetarget resonator 121, a setting of the impedance matching frequency ofthe target resonator 121, or a combination thereof.

The target unit 125 may transfer the received power to the load. Forexample, the target unit 125 may include an AC/DC converter, and aDC-to-DC (DC/DC) converter. The AC/DC converter may generate a DC signalby rectifying an AC signal. The AC signal may be transmitted from thesource resonator 115 to the target resonator 121. The DC/DC convertermay supply a rated voltage to a device or the load based on a signallevel of the DC signal.

For example, the source resonator 115 and the target resonator 121 maybe stored in a helix coil structured resonator, a spiral coil structuredresonator, a meta-structured resonator, and the like.

Due to an external effect, an impedance mismatching between the sourceresonator 115 and the target resonator 121 may occur. The externaleffect may include a change in a distance between the source resonator115 and the target resonator 121, a change in a location of the sourceresonator 115, the target resonator 121, the like, or any combinationthereof. The impedance mismatching may cause a decrease in an efficiencyof power transfer. In response to a reflected wave corresponding to atransmission signal that is partially reflected by a target and beingdetected, the matching control 113 may determine the occurrence ofimpedance mismatching. The matching control 113 may perform impedancematching in response to determining the occurrence of the impedancemismatching. The matching control 113 may change a resonance frequencybased on a detection of a resonance point through waveform analysis ofthe reflected wave. For example, the matching control 113 may determinea frequency. The frequency may generate a minimum amplitude in thewaveform of the reflected wave, as the resonance frequency.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of a portable device 200.

Referring to FIG. 2, the portable device 200 may include a powerreceiving unit 210, a voltage generator 220, a controller 230, a battery240, a communication unit 250, a radio frequency (RF) front-end 270, anda baseband processor 260.

The power receiving unit 210 may receive a first energy or a secondenergy from a wireless power transmitter configured to transmit powerwirelessly. The power receiving unit 210 may include a target resonator211, and a matching controller 213. Here, the first energy may be usedto perform a communication function and a control function, and thesecond energy may be used to charge a battery.

The target resonator 211 may form a magnetic coupling with a sourceresonator of the wireless power transmitter. The target resonator 211may receive the first energy or the second energy by the magneticcoupling.

The matching controller 213 may adjust a resonance frequency orimpedance of the target resonator 211, based on the control of thecontroller 230.

In one example, the voltage generator 220 may generate a wake-up voltagefrom the first energy. In another example, the voltage generator 220 maygenerate a voltage for charging the battery 240 from the second energy.The voltage generator 220 may include an AC/DC inverter 221, a DC leveladjusting unit 223, and a path determining unit 225.

The AC/DC inverter 221 may generate the wake-up voltage by rectifyingthe first energy, and may generate the voltage for charging the battery240 by rectifying the second energy. In other words, the AC/DC inverter221 may generate a DC voltage by rectifying an AC voltage.

The DC level adjusting unit 223 may adjust a level of the DC voltageoutput from the AC/DC inverter 221 and the level may be adjusted to alevel for chairing the battery 240.

The path determining unit 225 may determine a power supply path, so thatthe wake-up voltage may be supplied to the controller 230, and thevoltage for charging the battery 240 may be supplied to the battery 240.In other words, the path determining unit 225 may provide the wake-upvoltage to the controller 230 or the communication unit 250. In responseto an amount of a power received from the wireless power transmitterbeing less than a predetermined value, the path determining unit 225 maydetermine the first energy. The first energy may correspond to the powerreceived from the wireless power transmitter. The controller 230 and thecommunication unit 250 may continue communicating with the wirelesspower transmitter, even when power is not supplied by the battery 240.As a result of the communicating, the path determining unit 225 maydetermine the power supply path. As another aspect, the controller 230may control the matching controller 213, without interrupting the powersupply. Accordingly, the matching controller 213 may continuouslyperform impedance matching and the like.

The controller 230 may be activated by the wake-up voltage, and mayperform the communication function and the control function. As anotheraspect, the communication function and the control function may beperformed by a processor included in the controller 230. The controlfunction may enable controlling each of the power receiving unit 210,the voltage generator 220, and the communication unit 250.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in response to the wake-up voltage activatingthe controller 230, the controller 230 may control a switch 301 to turnon or be activated so that the battery 240 may supply a voltage to thecontroller 230 and the communication unit 250. As another aspect, thecontroller 230 may verify a remaining amount of a power in the battery240. In response to the remaining amount of the power in the battery 240being equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the controller 230may activate or turn on the switch 301 so that the voltage may besupplied to the controller 230 and the communication unit 250 from thebattery 240. As another aspect, in response to the remaining amount ofpower in the battery 240 being less than the predetermined value, theswitch 301 may be deactivated or set in an off state.

The controller 230 may generate state information of the portable device200 that may include information on a current flowing in the targetresonator 211, information on a voltage of the target resonator 211, andinformation on a charge state of the battery 240.

The communication unit 250 may communicate with the wireless powertransmitter, based on the control of the controller 230. Thecommunication unit 250 may communicate with the wireless powertransmitter via a Bluetooth, a wireless local area network (WLAN), orother wireless communication modules. The Bluetooth, the WLAN, and otherwireless communication modules may be included in the portable device200. The wake-up voltage may activate the communication unit 250. Thecommunication unit 250 may receive a wake-up request signal from thewireless power transmitter. In response to receiving the wake-up requestsignal to the wireless power transmitter, the communication unit 250 maytransmit a response signal. The response signal may include anidentifier (ID) of the portable device 200. In response to thetransmission of the response signal, the communication unit 250 mayreceive a state information request message from the wireless powertransmitter. The state information request message may includeinformation on a resonance frequency. The communication unit 250 maytransmit the state information of the portable device 200 to thewireless power transmitter. As described above, the state informationmay include the information on the current flowing in the targetresonator 211, the information on the voltage of the target resonator211, and the information on the charge state of the battery 240.

In response to a resonance frequency being changed, the communicationunit 250 may receive information on the changed resonance frequency fromthe wireless power transmitter. As another aspect, the communicationunit 250 may perform a “communication for anti-collision” with thewireless power transmitter.

The RF front-end 270 and the baseband processor 260 may transmit orreceive an RF signal, and the RF front-end 270 and the basebandprocessor 260 may process the RF signal to a baseband signal.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the portable device 200 may further include acharging capacitor 401. The charging capacitor 401 may be configured tocharge a wake-up voltage and to provide the charged wake-up voltage tothe controller 230 and the communication unit 250.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an operation method of a wireless powercharging system.

Referring to FIG. 5, a “source” and a “target” may correspond with awireless power transmitter and a portable device, respectively.

In operation 510, the source may periodically or aperiodically radiate awake-up power to determine whether the target is located around thesource. For example, in response to a reflection signal for the radiatedwake-up power being reduced to be equal to or less than a referencevalue, the source may determine that the target is located around thesource. As another aspect, the source may recognize that the target islocated around the source based on receiving a response signal inresponse to a wake-up request signal.

In operation 510, the target may receive a first energy from the sourceused to perform a communication function and a control function. Thetarget may generate a wake-up voltage based on receiving the firstenergy. Subsequently, the target may activate a communication modulebased on the generated wake-up voltage. In operation 520, the activatedcommunication module may receive the wake-up request signal from thesource. In other words, the source may broadcast the wake-up requestsignal in operation 520. Operations 510 and 520 may be performedsubstantially simultaneously.

In operation 530, the target may transmit the response signal to thesource in response to the wake-up request signal. The response signalmay include an ID of the target.

In operation 540, the source and the target may perform a “communicationfor anti-collision.”

The “communication for anti-collision” may be performed in, for example,when a plurality of targets exist. As another aspect, in response to aplurality of targets existing, the “communication for anti-collision”may be performed preventing the targets from colliding with each otherand classifying the targets.

The “communication for anti-collision” may be performed using a Requestto Send (RTS)/Clear to Send (CTS) mechanism. As another aspect, thesource may transmit an RTS frame to the target, and the target maytransmit a CTS frame to the source. In another aspect, the source or thetarget may transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) frame to the other partyduring the receiving of data. Thus, prevention of a collision andidentification of the other party may be possible.

Furthermore, the source may prevent a communication collision among aplurality of targets. The prevention may occur by allocating a time slotto each of the plurality of targets. The plurality of targets maycommunicate in their respective allocated time slots. Thus, thecommunication among the plurality of the targets may not collide witheach other.

In operation 550, the target may receive a state information requestmessage from the source. The state information request message mayinclude information on a resonance frequency. Here, the information onthe resonance frequency may be information on a resonance frequency of asource resonator, or information on a resonance frequency with a highpower transmission efficiency.

In operation 560, the target may transmit state information of thetarget to the source. Here, the state information may includeinformation on a current flowing in a target resonator, information on avoltage of the target resonator, and information on a charge state of abattery. The source may determine how much power is required to chargethe battery. The source may determine the required power based on theinformation on the charge state of the battery.

In operation 570, the target may receive a second energy used to chargethe battery from the source. The target may generate a voltage forcharging the battery from the second energy.

FIG. 6 illustrates a configuration of a wireless power transmitter 600.

Referring to FIG. 6, the wireless power transmitter 600 may include adetector 610, a controller 620, a source resonating unit 630, a powergenerator 640, a matching controller 650, a rectification unit 660, anda constant voltage controller 670.

The detector 610 may detect a plurality of target devices configured towirelessly receive a power. The detector 610 may include a communicationunit to broadcast a wake-up request signal, and to receive responsesignals in response to the wake-up request signal, respectively, fromthe plurality of target devices. As another aspect, the detector 610 mayalso include a reflected power detector to detect a reflected power.Here, each of the response signals may include information on an ID of acorresponding target device, and information on an amount of a power tobe used in the corresponding target device.

The detector 610 may also receive location information of each of theplurality of target devices from each of the plurality of targetdevices. The location information may correspond with ID information ofeach of a plurality of source resonators 631, 633, 635, and 637. As anexample, a first target device adjacent to the source resonator 631 mayreceive an ID “S1” of the source resonator 631 from the source resonator631, and the first target device may transmit, to the detector 610, aresponse signal including the received ID “S1” in response to thewake-up request signal. In this example, in response to the sourceresonator 631 being in the form of a pad, the first target device may beplaced on the source resonator 631. For example, when two target devicesare placed on the source resonator 631, an “amount of a power to be usedin a corresponding target device” may be obtained by adding the amountsof powers to be used in the two target devices.

The source resonating unit 630 may include the plurality of sourceresonators 631, 633, 635, and 637. A target device adjacent to thesource resonator 631 will be referred to as a “first target device,” anda target device adjacent to the source resonator 633 will be referred toas a “second target device.”

The controller 620 may select a source resonator from among theplurality of source resonators 631, 633, 635, and 637, the selection maybe based on an amount of a power to be transmitted to each of theplurality of target devices, or based on a coupling factor associatedwith each of the plurality of target devices. Here, the plurality ofsource resonators 631, 633, 635, and 637 may be respectively adjacent tothe plurality of target devices. As another aspect, the selected sourceresonator may wirelessly transmit power to a target device adjacent tothe selected source resonator via magnetic coupling.

The controller 620 may select, from among the plurality of sourceresonators 631, 633, 635, and 637, a source resonator that transmits alarge amount of a power to each of the plurality of target devices, or asource resonator having a high coupling factor with respect to each ofthe plurality of target devices. Here, the controller 620 may turn on oractivate the selected source resonator, and may turn off or deactivatethe other source resonators.

The power generator 640 may generate power to be transmitted to awireless power receiver. The power generator 640 may generate power,based on the control of the controller 620. As another aspect, the powergenerator 640 may convert a DC current of a predetermined level to an ACcurrent based on a switching pulse signal, and may generate a power. Theswitching pulse signal may be in a band of a few MHz to tens of MHz.Accordingly, the power generator 640 may include an AC/DC inverter.Here, the constant voltage controller 670 may provide the DC current.The AC/DC inverter may include a switching device for high-speedswitching. Here, in response to the switching pulse signal being “high,”the switching device may be activated or powered “on.” In response tothe switching pulse signal being “low,” the switching device may bedeactivated or powered “off.”

An amount of power generated by the power generator 640 may be changeddepending on when a target device is detected. As an aspect, before thetarget device is detected, for example, until a battery charge state ofthe target device is determined, the power generator 640 may generate apower corresponding to an “amount required to perform a communicationfunction and a control function” of the target device. As anotheraspect, after the target device is detected, the power generator 640 maygenerate a power corresponding to an “amount required to charge abattery” of the target device. The “amount required to perform thecommunication function and the control function” may correspond to asmall amount, for example a few milliwatts (mW), that enables aprocessor of the target device to be activated and enables acommunication module to be operated. As another aspect, the “amountrequired to perform the communication function and the control function”may correspond to a “wake-up power” or an “energy used to perform thecommunication function and the control function.”

The matching controller 650 may perform impedance matching between thesource resonating unit 630 and the power generator 640. In other words,the matching controller 650 may adjust impedances of the plurality ofsource resonators 631, 633, 635, and 637, based on the control of thecontroller 620.

The rectification unit 660 may generate a DC voltage by rectifying an ACvoltage in a band of tens of Hz.

The constant voltage controller 670 may receive the DC voltage from therectification unit 660, and may output a DC voltage based on the controlof the controller 620. The DC voltage may be output at a predeterminedlevel. The constant voltage controller 670 may include a stabilizationcircuit configured to output the DC voltage at the predetermined level.

In response to a distance between the wireless power transmitter 600 anda target device being changed, or in response to a load of the targetdevice being changed, a resonance frequency may be changed. Accordingly,the wireless power transmitter 600 may notify the target device of achange in the resonance frequency. The notification may occur via acommunication with the target device.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a configuration of the sourceresonating unit.

Referring to FIG. 7, the source resonating unit 750 may include foursource resonators 710, 720, 730, and 740.

In FIG. 7, after a wake-up request signal is transmitted from the sourceresonator 710 to a target device 760, the target device 760 may bedetected via a response signal in response to the wake-up requestsignal. Here, the transmitted wake-up request signal may includeinformation on an ID of the source resonator 710. As another aspect, thecommunication unit of FIG. 6 may perform out-band communication using afrequency assigned for data communication, and the source resonatingunit 750 may perform “in-band communication for transmitting orreceiving data to or from a target device using a resonance frequency.”Accordingly, after receiving the wake-up request signal, the responsesignal may be received from the wireless power transmitter 600 viain-band communication or out-band communication.

In response to no response signal being received after receiving thewake-up request signal for a predetermined period of time, switching tothe next source resonator 720 may be performed. When no response signalis received for the predetermined period of time, the source resonator720 may be set in an off state. In the same manner, a target device 770may be detected in the source resonators 730 and 740.

As described above, the source resonators 710, 720, 730, and 740 may besequentially turned on or off, and may broadcast a wake-up requestsignal, thereby detecting which source resonator is located adjacent toa target device.

The source resonators 710, 720, 730, and 740 may be respectivelyidentified by IDs of the source resonators 710, 720, 730, and 740. Thecontroller 620 of FIG. 6 may also determine locations of the pluralityof target devices based on the IDs of the source resonators 710, 720,730, and 740.

Accordingly, communication between a source device and a portabledevice, using a communication function included in the portable deviceis possible. The communication function may be used instead of using aresonance frequency for power transmission. As another aspect,increasing a power transmission efficiency, through the communicationbetween the source device and the portable device may be possible byusing a control procedure. Furthermore, the source device maycommunicate with the portable device by supplying a power for activatingthe portable device, even in response to the portable device beingcompletely discharged.

FIGS. 8 through 14B illustrate examples of resonators.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a resonator 800. The resonator 800having a two-dimensional (2D) structure may include a transmission line,a capacitor 820, a matcher 830, and conductors 841 and 842. Thetransmission line may include a first signal conducting portion 811, asecond signal conducting portion 812, and a ground conducting portion813.

The capacitor 820 may be positioned between the first signal conductingportion 811 and the second signal conducting portion 812. Thus, anelectric field may be confined within the capacitor 820. Generally, thetransmission line may include at least one conductor in an upper portionof the transmission line, and may also include at least one conductor ina lower portion of the transmission line. A current may flow through theat least one conductor disposed in the upper portion of the transmissionline, and the at least one conductor disposed in the lower portion ofthe transmission may be electrically grounded. A conductor disposed inan upper portion of the transmission line may be separated andcorrespond to the first signal conducting portion 811 and the secondsignal conducting portion 812. A conductor disposed in the lower portionof the transmission line may be referred to as the ground conductingportion 813.

The resonator 800 may have the 2D structure. The transmission line mayinclude the first signal conducting portion 811 and the second signalconducting portion 812 in the upper portion of the transmission line,and may include the ground conducting portion 813 in the lower portionof the transmission line. The first signal conducting portion 811 andthe second signal conducting portion 812 may face the ground conductingportion 813. The current may flow through the first signal conductingportion 811 and the second signal conducting portion 812.

One end of the first signal conducting portion 811 may be shorted toconnect with the conductor 842, and the other end of the first signalconducting portion 811 may be connected to the capacitor 820. One end ofthe second signal conducting portion 812 may be grounded by theconductor 841, and the other end of the second signal conducting portion812 may be connected to the capacitor 820. The first signal conductingportion may connect to the capacitor at one end of the capacitor and thesecond signal conducting portion may connect to the capacitor at theother end of the capacitor. Accordingly, the first signal conductingportion 811, the second signal conducting portion 812, the groundconducting portion 813, and the conductors 841 and 842 may be connectedto each other, so that the resonator 800 may have an electricallyclosed-loop structure. The term “loop structure” may include a polygonalstructure, such as, for example, a circular structure, a rectangularstructure, and the like. “Having a loop structure” may indicate beingelectrically closed.

The capacitor 820 may be inserted into an intermediate portion of thetransmission line. As another aspect, the capacitor 820 may be insertedbetween the first signal conducting portion 811 and the second signalconducting portion 812. The capacitor 820 may have a lumped elementshape, a distributed element shape, and the like. As an aspect, adistributed capacitor having the distributed element shape may includezigzagged conductor lines and a dielectric material having a relativelyhigh permittivity between the zigzagged conductor lines.

As an example of where the capacitor 820 is inserted into thetransmission line, the resonator 800 may have a property of ametamaterial. The metamaterial indicates a material having apredetermined electrical property that cannot be discovered in nature.Thus, the material may have an artificially designed structure. Anelectromagnetic characteristic of all the materials existing in naturemay have a unique magnetic permeability or a unique permittivity. Mostmaterials may have a positive magnetic permeability or a positivepermittivity. In the case of most materials, a right hand rule may beapplied to an electric field, a magnetic field, and a pointing vector.Thus, the materials that have the right hand rule applied may bereferred to as right handed materials (RHMs). As another aspect, themetamaterial has a magnetic permeability or a permittivity that may notbe found in nature. Thus, the metamaterial may be classified as anepsilon negative (ENG) material, a mu negative (MNG) material, a doublenegative (DNG) material, a negative refractive index (NRI) material, aleft-handed (LH) material, and the like. The classification of thematerial may be based on a sign of the corresponding permittivity ormagnetic permeability.

As an example of where a capacitance of the capacitor 820 inserted asthe lumped element is appropriately determined, the resonator 800 mayhave the characteristic of a metamaterial. Because the resonator 800 mayhave a negative magnetic permeability, the resonator 800 may be referredto as an MNG resonator. The resonator 800 may have a negative magneticpermeability based on an adjustment of the capacitance of the capacitor820. The determination of the capacitance of the capacitor 820 may bebased on various criteria. For example, the various criteria may includea criterion to enable the resonator 800 to have the characteristic ofthe metamaterial, a criterion to enable the resonator 800 to have anegative magnetic permeability in a target frequency, a criterion toenable the resonator 800 to have a zeroth order resonance characteristicin the target frequency, and the like. The capacitance of the capacitor820 may be determined based on at least one of the various criteria.

The resonator 800, also referred to as the MNG resonator 800, may have azeroth order resonance characteristic of having, as a resonancefrequency, a frequency when a propagation constant is “0”. Since theresonator 800 may have the zeroth order resonance characteristic, theresonance frequency may be independent of a physical size of the MNGresonator 800. By appropriately designing the capacitor 820, the MNGresonator 800 may sufficiently change the resonance frequency. On theother hand, the physical size of the MNG resonator 800 may not bechanged.

In a near field, the electric field may be concentrated on the capacitor820 inserted into the transmission line. Accordingly, due to thecapacitor 820, the magnetic field may become dominant in the near field.The MNG resonator 800 may have a relatively high Q-factor using thecapacitor 820 of the lumped element. Thus, an efficiency of powertransmission may be enhanced. Here, the Q-factor may correspond to alevel of an ohmic loss or a ratio of a reactance to a resistance in thewireless power transmission. The efficiency of the wireless powertransmission may increase based on an increase in the Q-factor.

The MNG resonator 800 may include the matcher 830, which may be used inimpedance matching. The matcher 830 may adjust a strength of a magneticfield of the MNG resonator 800. The matcher 830 may determine animpedance of the MNG resonator 800. A current may flow in or out the MNGresonator 800 via a connector. The connector may be connected to theground conducting portion 813 or the matcher 830. Power may betransferred through coupling without using a physical connection betweenthe connector and the ground conducting portion 813 or the matcher 830.

As another aspect, the matcher 830 may be positioned within the loopformed by the loop structure of the resonator 800. Changing the physicalshape of the matcher 830 may adjust the impedance of the resonator 800.For example, the matcher 830 may include the conductor 831 to be used inthe impedance matching in a location separate from the ground conductingportion 813. The matcher 830 may be separated by a distance h from theground conducting portion 813. Adjusting the distance h may change theimpedance of the resonator 800.

A controller (not shown) may control the matcher 830. In this example,the matcher 830 may change its physical shape based on a control signalgenerated by the controller. For example, the distance h between theconductor 831 and the ground conducting portion 813 may be increased ordecreased based on the control signal. Accordingly, the physical shapeof the matcher 830 may be changed to adjust the impedance of theresonator 800.

The matcher 830 may be configured as a passive element such as theconductor 831. As another aspect, the matcher 830 may be configured asan active element such as a diode, a transistor, and the like. As anexample, the active element may be driven based on the control signalgenerated by the controller, and the impedance of the resonator 800 maybe adjusted based on the generated control signal. For example, a diode,an example of the active element, may be included in the matcher 830.The impedance of the resonator 800 may be adjusted depending on whetherthe diode is activated or deactivated.

A magnetic core (not shown) may be further provided to pass through theMNG resonator 800. The magnetic core may perform a function ofincreasing a power transmission distance.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a resonator 900 having athree-dimensional (3D) structure that may include a transmission lineand a capacitor 920. The transmission line may include a first signalconducting portion 911, a second signal conducting portion 912, and aground conducting portion 913. The capacitor 920 may be inserted betweenthe first signal conducting portion 911 and the second signal conductingportion 912, whereby an electric field may be confined within thecapacitor 920.

The resonator 900 may have the 3D structure. The transmission line mayinclude the first signal conducting portion 911 and the second signalconducting portion 912 in an upper portion of the resonator 900, and mayinclude the ground conducting portion 913 in a lower portion of theresonator 900. The first signal conducting portion 911 and the secondsignal conducting portion 912 may face the ground conducting portion913. A current may flow in an x direction through the first signalconducting portion 911 and the second signal conducting portion 912. Inresponse to the current flowing in an x direction, a magnetic field H(W)may be formed in a −y direction. As another aspect (not shown), themagnetic field H(W) may be formed in a +y direction.

One end of the first signal conducting portion 911 may be connected tothe conductor 942, and the other end of the first signal conductingportion 911 may be connected to the capacitor 920. One end of the secondsignal conducting portion 912 may be connected to the conductor 941, andanother end of the second signal conducting portion 912 may be connectedto the capacitor 920. Accordingly, the first signal conducting portion911, the second signal conducting portion 912, the ground conductingportion 913, and the conductors 941 and 942 may be connected to eachother, whereby the resonator 900 may have an electrically closed-loopstructure. The term “loop structure” may include a polygonal structure,such as, for example, a circular structure, a rectangular structure, andthe like. “Having a loop structure” may correspond with beingelectrically closed.

The capacitor 920 may be inserted between or in a space between thefirst signal conducting portion 911 and the second signal conductingportion 912. The capacitor 920 may have a lumped element shape, adistributed element shape, and the like. As another aspect, adistributed capacitor having the distributed element shape may includezigzagged conductor lines and a dielectric material. The dielectricmaterial may have a relatively high permittivity between the zigzaggedconductor lines.

As the capacitor 920 is inserted into the transmission line, theresonator 900 may have a metamaterial property.

As an example, when a capacitance of the capacitor inserted as thelumped element is appropriately determined, the resonator 900 may havethe characteristic of the metamaterial. Since adjusting the capacitanceof the capacitor 920 may impart a negative magnetic permeability on theresonator 900, the resonator 900 may correspond to an MNG resonator.Various criteria may be applied to determine the capacitance of thecapacitor 920. For example, the various criteria may include a criterionto enable the resonator 900 to have the characteristic of themetamaterial, a criterion to enable the resonator 900 to have a negativemagnetic permeability in a target frequency, a criterion to enable theresonator 900 to have a zeroth order resonance characteristic in thetarget frequency, and the like. Based on at least one criterion amongthe various criteria, the capacitance of the capacitor 920 may bedetermined.

The resonator 900, also corresponding to the MNG resonator 900, may havea zeroth order resonance characteristic of having, as a resonancefrequency, a frequency when a propagation constant is “0”. Since theresonator 900 may have the zeroth order resonance characteristic, theresonance frequency may be independent in relation to a physical size ofthe MNG resonator 900. Based on an appropriate design of the capacitor920, the MNG resonator 900 may sufficiently change the resonancefrequency. Accordingly, the physical size of the MNG resonator 900 maynot be changed.

Referring to the MNG resonator 900, in a near field, the electric fieldmay be concentrated on the capacitor 920 inserted into the transmissionline. Accordingly, due to the capacitor 920, the magnetic field maybecome dominant in the near field. As another aspect, since the MNGresonator 900 having the zeroth-order resonance characteristic may havecharacteristics similar to a magnetic dipole, the magnetic field maybecome dominant in the near field. A relatively small amount of theelectric field formed due to the insertion of the capacitor 920 may beconcentrated on the capacitor 920 and thus, the magnetic field maybecome further dominant.

Also, the MNG resonator 900 may include the matcher 930. The matcher 930may be used in impedance matching. The matcher 930 may appropriatelyadjust the strength of magnetic field of the MNG resonator 900. Animpedance of the MNG resonator 900 may be determined by the matcher 930.A current may flow in or out the MNG resonator 900 via a connector 940.The connector 940 may be connected to the ground conducting portion 913or the matcher 930.

As another aspect, the matcher 930 may be positioned within the loopformed by the loop structure of the resonator 900. Changing the physicalshape of the matcher 930 may adjust the impedance of the resonator 900.For example, the matcher 930 may include the conductor 931 to be used inthe impedance matching in a location separate from the ground conductingportion 913 by a distance h. Adjusting the distance h may change theimpedance of the resonator 900.

A controller may be provided to control the matcher 930. In this case,the matcher 930 may change the physical shape of the matcher 930 basedon a control signal generated by the controller. For example, thedistance h between the conductor 931 and the ground conducting portion913 may be increased or decreased based on the control signal.Accordingly, the physical shape of the matcher 930 may be changed basedon an adjustment of the impedance of the resonator 900. The distance hbetween the conductor 931 of the matcher 930 and the ground conductingportion 913 may be adjusted using a variety of schemes. As one exampleof a scheme, a plurality of conductors may be included in the matcher930, and the distance h may be adjusted by adaptively activating one ofthe conductors. As another example, the distance h may be adjusted basedon adjusting the physical location of the conductor 931 up or down. Thedistance h may be controlled based on the control signal of thecontroller. The controller may generate the control signal using variousfactors.

In one aspect, the matcher 930 may be configured as a passive elementsuch as the conductor 931. According to various examples, the matcher930 may be configured as an active element such as a diode, atransistor, and the like. In an example of the matcher 930 beingconfigured as an active element, the active element may be driven basedon the control signal generated by the controller, and the impedance ofthe resonator 900 may be adjusted based on the control signal. Forexample, a diode, an example of the active element, may be included inthe matcher 930. The impedance of the resonator 900 may be adjusteddepending on whether the diode is in an on state or in an off state.

A magnetic core (not shown) may be further provided to pass through theresonator 900 configured as the MNG resonator. The magnetic core mayincrease a power transmission distance.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a resonator 1000 for a wireless powertransmission configured as a bulky type. The resonator 1000 may includea first signal conducting portion 1011 and a conductor 1042 integrallyformed, rather than being separately manufactured and being connected toeach other. Similarly, a second signal conducting portion 1012 and aconductor 1041 may also be integrally manufactured.

As an example, with the second signal conducting portion 1012 and theconductor 1041 being separately manufactured and connected to eachother, a loss of conduction may occur due to a seam 1050. The secondsignal conducting portion 1012 and the conductor 1041 may be connectedto each other without using a seam, so that the second signal conductingportion 1012 and the conductor 1041 may be seamlessly connected to eachother. Accordingly, a conductor loss caused by the seam 1050 may bedecreased. Accordingly, the second signal conducting portion 1012 and aground conducting portion 1013 may be seamlessly and integrallymanufactured. Similarly, the first signal conducting portion 1011 andthe ground conducting portion 1013 may be seamlessly and integrallymanufactured.

Accordingly, a seamless connection connecting at least two partitionsinto an integrated form is referred to as a bulky type.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a resonator 1100 for a wireless powertransmission, configured as a hollow type.

In the resonator 1100, each of a first signal conducting portion 1111, asecond signal conducting portion 1112, a ground conducting portion 1113,and conductors 1141 and 1142 of the resonator 1100 may be configured asthe hollow type, each of which may include an empty space inside.

In a predetermined resonance frequency, an active current may flow inonly a portion of the first signal conducting portion 1111 instead ofall of the first signal conducting portion 1111, a portion of the secondsignal conducting portion 1112 instead of all of the second signalconducting portion 1112, a portion of the ground conducting portion 1113instead of all of the ground conducting portion 1113, and portions ofthe conductors 1141 and 1142 instead of all of the conductors 1141 and1142. As another aspect, in an example in which a depth of each of thefirst signal conducting portion 1111, the second signal conductingportion 1112, the ground conducting portion 1113, and the conductors1141 and 1142 is significantly deeper than a corresponding skin depth inthe predetermined resonance frequency, such a structure may beineffective. The significantly deeper depth may increase a weight and/ormanufacturing costs of the resonator 1100.

Accordingly, in the predetermined resonance frequency, the depth of eachof the first signal conducting portion 1111, the second signalconducting portion 1112, the ground conducting portion 1113, and theconductors 1141 and 1142 may be appropriately determined based on thecorresponding skin depth of each of the first signal conducting portion1111, the second signal conducting portion 1112, the ground conductingportion 1113, and the conductors 1141 and 1142. In an example in whicheach of the first signal conducting portion 1111, the second signalconducting portion 1112, the ground conducting portion 1113, and theconductors 1141 and 1142 has an appropriate depth deeper than acorresponding skin depth, the resonator 1100 may be manufactured to belighter, and manufacturing costs of the resonator 1100 may alsodecrease.

For example, the depth of the second signal conducting portion 1112 maybe determined as “d” mm, and d may correspond to

$d = {\frac{1}{\sqrt{\pi\; f\;{\mu\sigma}}}.}$Here, ƒ relates to a frequency, μ relates to a magnetic permeability,and σ relates to a conductor constant. In an example in which the firstsignal conducting portion 1111, the second signal conducting portion1112, the ground conducting portion 1113, and the conductors 1141 and1142 are made of a copper and have a conductivity of 5.8×10⁷ siemens permeter (S·m⁻¹), the skin depth may be about 0.6 mm with respect to 10 kHzof the resonance frequency, and the skin depth may be about 0.006 mmwith respect to 100 MHz of the resonance frequency.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a resonator 1200 for a wireless powertransmission using a parallel-sheet configuration.

The parallel-sheet configuration may be applied to each of a firstsignal conducting portion 1211 and a second signal conducting portion1212 included in the resonator 1200.

Each of the first signal conducting portion 1211 and the second signalconducting portion 1212 may not be a perfect conductor, and thus mayhave a resistance. Due to the resistance, an ohmic loss may occur. Theohmic loss may decrease a Q-factor and may also decrease a couplingeffect.

By applying the parallel-sheet configuration to each of the first signalconducting portion 1211 and the second signal conducting portion 1212, adecrease in the ohmic loss may occur, and the Q-factor and the couplingeffect may be increased. Referring to a portion 1270 indicated by acircle in FIG. 12, in an example in which the parallel-sheetconfiguration is applied, each of the first signal conducting portion1211 and the second signal conducting portion 1212 may include aplurality of conductor lines. The plurality of conductor lines may bedisposed in parallel, and may be shorted at an end portion of each ofthe first signal conducting portion 1211 and the second signalconducting portion 1212.

In the example in which the parallel-sheet configuration may be appliedto each of the first signal conducting portion 1211 and the secondsignal conducting portion 1212, the plurality of conductor lines may bedisposed in parallel. Accordingly, a sum of resistances having theconductor lines may decrease. Consequently, the resistance loss maydecrease, and the Q-factor and the coupling effect may increase.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a resonator 1300 for a wireless powertransmission including a distributed capacitor.

Referring to FIG. 13, a capacitor 1320 may be included in the resonator1300 for the wireless power transmission. The capacitor 1320 may be adistributed capacitor. A capacitor as a lumped element may have arelatively high equivalent series resistance (ESR). A variety of schemeshave been proposed to decrease the ESR contained in the capacitor of thelumped element. As an example, by using the capacitor 1320 as adistributed element, the ESR may decrease. A loss caused by the ESR maydecrease a Q-factor and a coupling effect.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the capacitor 1320 may have a zigzaggedstructure. For example, the capacitor 1320 may be configured as aconductive line and a conductor having the zigzagged structure.

By employing the capacitor 1320 as the distributed element, the lossoccurring due to the ESR may decrease. In addition, by disposing aplurality of capacitors as lumped elements, the loss occurring due tothe ESR may decrease. Since a resistance of each of the capacitors asthe lumped elements decreases through a parallel connection, activeresistances of parallel-connected capacitors as the lumped elements mayalso decrease. Thus, the loss occurring due to the ESR may decrease. Forexample, by employing ten capacitors of 1 pF instead of employing asingle capacitor of 10 pF, the loss occurring due to the ESR maydecrease.

FIG. 14A illustrates an example of the matcher 830 used in the resonator800, and FIG. 14B illustrates an example of the matcher 930 used in theresonator 900.

As an aspect, FIG. 14A illustrates a portion of the resonator 800 ofFIG. 8 including the matcher 830, and FIG. 14B illustrates a portion ofthe resonator 900 of FIG. 9 including the matcher 930.

Referring to FIG. 14A, the matcher 830 may include the conductor 831, aconductor 832, and a conductor 833. The conductors 832 and 833 may beconnected to the ground conducting portion 813 and the conductor 831.The impedance of the 2D resonator may be determined based on a distanceh between the conductor 831 and the ground conducting portion 813. Thedistance h between the conductor 831 and the ground conducting portion813 may be controlled by the controller, and the distance h may beadjusted using a variety of schemes. For example, the distance h may beadjusted by adaptively activating one of the conductors 831, 832, and833, by adjusting the physical location of the conductor 831 up anddown, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 14B, the matcher 930 may include the conductor 931, aconductor 932, and a conductor 933. The conductors 932 and 933 may beconnected to the ground conducting portion 913 and the conductor 931.The impedance of the 3D resonator may be determined based on a distanceh between the conductor 931 and the ground conducting portion 913. Thedistance h between the conductor 931 and the ground conducting portion913 may be controlled by the controller. Similar to the matcher 830 inthe matcher 930, the distance h between the conductor 931 and the groundconducting portion 913 may be adjusted using a variety of schemes. Forexample, the distance h may be adjusted by adaptively activating one ofthe conductors 931, 932, and 933, by adjusting the physical location ofthe conductor 931 up and down, and the like.

As another aspect, the matcher may include an active element (notshown). A scheme of adjusting an impedance of a resonator using theactive element may be similar to the examples described above. Forexample, the impedance of the resonator may be adjusted by changing apath of a current flowing through the matcher using the active element.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of an equivalent circuit of the resonator800.

The resonator 800 used in a wireless power transmission may be modeledto the equivalent circuit of FIG. 15. In the equivalent circuit of FIG.15, C_(L) refers to a capacitor that is inserted in a form of a lumpedelement in the middle of the transmission line of FIG. 8.

Here, the resonator 800 may have a zeroth resonance characteristic. Forexample, when a propagation constant is “0”, the resonator 800 may beassumed to have ω_(MZR) as a resonance frequency. The resonancefrequency ω_(MZR) may be expressed by Equation 1.

$\begin{matrix}{\omega_{MZR} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{L_{R}C_{L}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In Equation 1, MZR refers to a Mu zero resonator.

Referring to Equation 1, the resonance frequency ω_(MZR) of theresonator 800 may be determined by L_(R)/C_(L). A physical size of theresonator 800 and the resonance frequency ω_(MZR) may be independentwith respect to each other. Since the physical sizes are independentwith respect to each other, the physical size of the resonator 800 maybe sufficiently reduced.

Program instructions to perform a method described herein, or one ormore operations thereof, may be recorded, stored, or fixed in one ormore computer-readable storage media. The program instructions may beimplemented by a computer. For example, the computer may cause aprocessor to execute the program instructions. The media may include,alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, datastructures, and the like. Examples of computer-readable media includemagnetic media, such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape;optical media such as CD ROM disks and DVDs; magneto-optical media, suchas optical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured tostore and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like. Examples ofprogram instructions include machine code, such as produced by acompiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed bythe computer using an interpreter. The program instructions, that is,software, may be distributed over network coupled computer systems sothat the software is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Forexample, the software and data may be stored by one or more computerreadable recording mediums. Also, functional programs, codes, and codesegments for accomplishing the example embodiments disclosed herein canbe easily construed by programmers skilled in the art to which theembodiments pertain based on and using the flow diagrams and blockdiagrams of the figures and their corresponding descriptions as providedherein. Also, the described unit to perform an operation or a method maybe hardware, software, or some combination of hardware and software. Forexample, the unit may be a software package running on a computer or thecomputer on which that software is running. A number of examples havebeen described above. Nevertheless, it will be understood that variousmodifications may be made. For example, suitable results may be achievedif the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or ifcomponents in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit arecombined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by othercomponents or their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations arewithin the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a battery; apower receiving circuit configured to receive wireless powercorresponding to a first power or a second power from a wireless powertransmitter, the first power being used to perform a communicationfunction, and the second power being used to charge the battery, whereinthe second power is greater than the first power; a communicationcircuit configured to perform the communication function; and acontroller configured to control a power supply path of the receivedwireless power.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein thecontroller controls the power supply path of the received wireless powerbased on whether the received wireless power corresponds to the firstpower or the received wireless power corresponds to the second power. 3.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, if the received wirelesspower corresponds to the first power, the controller is configured tocontrol the power supply path to allow the first power to be supplied tothe controller and the communication circuit.
 4. The electronic deviceof claim 3, wherein the power supply path connects the power receivingcircuit to the communication circuit and the controller based on thecontrol of the controller.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein,if the received wireless power corresponds to the second power, thecontroller is configured to control the power supply path to allow thesecond power to be supplied to the battery.
 6. The electronic device ofclaim 5, wherein the power supply path connects the power receivingcircuit to the battery based on the control of the controller.
 7. Theelectronic device of claim 1, further comprising: a voltage generatingcircuit configured to generate a voltage for activating the controllerfrom the first power, or to generate a voltage for charging the batteryfrom the second power.
 8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is further configured to transmit a signal includinginformation for an identification of the electronic device to thewireless power transmitter through the communication circuit.
 9. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the power receiving circuitcomprising at least one of antenna and resonator.
 10. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein, in response to the controller beingactivated based on the first power, the controller is further configuredto generate a control signal to begin supplying a voltage from thebattery to the controller and the communication circuit.
 11. Theelectronic device of claim 10, further comprising: a switch connectingthe battery to the controller and the communication circuit is turned onbased on the control signal.
 12. The electronic device of claim 10,wherein the controller is further configured to generate the controlsignal in response to an amount of a power remaining in the batterybeing greater than a reference level.
 13. An operating method of anelectronic device, the operating method comprising: receiving wirelesspower corresponding to a first power or a second power from a wirelesspower transmitter, the first power being used to perform a communicationfunction, and the second power being used to charge a battery of theelectronic device, wherein the second power is greater than the firstpower; controlling a power supply path of the received wireless power;and communicating with the wireless power transmitter based on thecommunication function.
 14. The operating method of claim 13, thecontrolling comprising controlling the power supply path of the receivedwireless power based on whether the received wireless power correspondsto the first power or the received wireless power corresponds to thesecond power.
 15. The operating method of claim 13, the controllingcomprising controlling the power supply path to allow the first power tobe supplied to a controller and a communication circuit, when thereceived wireless power corresponds to the first power.
 16. Theoperating method of claim 13, the controlling comprising controlling thepower supply path to allow the second power to be supplied to thebattery, when the received wireless power corresponds to the secondpower.
 17. The operating method of claim 13, further comprising:generating a voltage for activating a controller of the electronicdevice from the first power or generating a voltage for charging thebattery from the second power.
 18. The operating method of claim 13,further comprising: transmitting a signal including information for anidentification of the electronic device to the wireless powertransmitter.
 19. The operating method of claim 13, further comprising:generating a control signal to begin supplying a voltage from thebattery to a controller and a communication circuit, in response to thecontroller being activated based on the first power.
 20. The operatingmethod of claim 19, wherein the control signal is generated in responseto an amount of a power remaining in the battery being greater than areference level.